As a requirement for land ownership…MINISTRY OF LANDS URGES CITIZENS TO SECURE BIOMETRIC ID CARDS

By Morlai Sesay

With the NIN now tied to land ownership in Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning urged all citizens and non-citizens residing in Sierra Leone to apply for and secure their Biometric National Identity Cards, which bear the National Identification Number (NIN).

The public notice dated Friday, February 2nd, 2024, revealed that the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Country Planning had embarked upon reforms in the land management systems across the country to minimize conflicts.

To achieve the foregoing goals, the Ministry, therefore, with immediate effect, urged all individuals wishing to secure state land lease, freehold, grant, building permit, and land registration to submit a copy of the National Identity Card, non-national ID Card and or ECOWAS Identity Card that bears the unique identifier National Identification Number (NIN).

This directive, according to the Ministry, is in line with the cabinet directives and parliamentary ratification of March 2022 that provides for the mandatory link of the National Identification Number (NIN) inscribed on the ID cards to access services, including land and property registration, among others in Sierra Leone.